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April 1705 (7)
= La Gloire du Roi - April 1705 = Weather this month *Becalmed in the Baltic Sea. *Heavy rainfall in the Pacific continues. *Storms in the North Atlantic and the Far South. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Dresden *Chancellor Baron Wilhelm von Baden has protested that the Austrian armies in and around Saxony have been taking grain off the people leading to possible shortages this winter. True, reports state that the Austrians have been paying for what they take, and the government from Dresden will do its best to ensure nobody starves, but he has asked the Imperial forces to stop requisitioning supplies in this unfriendly manner. Quebec *French dragoons' mounts are suffering an outbreak of disease after rotting rat carcasses were found to have been put into many of their feed bags! Zurich *Karl Anton Am Rhyn has asked Freiherr von Cronsbruch to give his regards to the Holy Roman Emperor, and requested that a payment of £200,000 be made to secure the services of the seven battalions as mercenaries for a year. As for the regiments already in Austrian Imperial service, he explained that adequate payments had been made to ensure nothing needs to be forwarded to the Swiss Cantons coffers until March of 1707, when £100,000 will fall due. In future years the sum falling due each March shall work out at £120,000 (excluding the annual payment for the newly hired musketeers). Turning to Don Pedro D’Souza, Karl Anton said that if the Austrians did not pay next month then the mercenaries would be placed in Spanish service, but if they did pay then the money paid by Spain would be returned in June. If the Spanish withdrew from the contract the next in line would be the House of France who had also paid and would acquire the mercenaries’ services in June if Spain does not. Finally he added that if France did not acquire the mercenaries a rebate would be issued to the King's treasury in July. Don Pedro D’Souza looked thoughtful but surprised everyone by replying that he would like the seven battalions to go into Austrian service as the Infanta and Countess of Barcelona regiments. He added that the £200,000 paid last month to the Cantons is to pay for their service with Austria, a birthday gift to the Emperor from his youngest granddaughters. Eight squadrons of Swiss dragoons serving Spain has formed the Helvetic Legion and ridden from Berne to Zurich. Grimsby *The French Northern Patrol Group has sailed to a position off Grimsby at the mouth of the River Humber from a position further up the Humber at Hull. While heading toward Grimsby they saw the English North Sea Squadron of three frigates which is being accompanied by ten ketches taken as prizes off the French Navy. While the French patrol group could have outsailed their English counterparts and overhauled them out to sea, they were content to let them continue sailing into the North Sea while the French ships stopped to stand off Grimsby. They can see that the old port is no longer usable as such, the small harbour being silted up, and also that Grimsby has no defences. A rowing boat took an officer ashore to try to persuade the townspeople to declare for King James 'to avoid the same fate as London.' He met Admiral Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford who absolutely refused to declare for the Jacobite claimant. The naval officer contended that Grimsby would surely not want to be bombarded? Admiral Russell bristled with indignation and defiantly said, 'you wouldn't!'. The French officer returned to his ship. Madrid *In the name of the King of Spain, and without recourse to the assemblies of the kingdom, Cardinal Portocarrero has cut tariffs charged on Portuguese merchants to 5% from the standard rate of 8%. Berlin *Ambassador Dmitry Burakov has informed Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, the regent of Prussia that Russia has regrettably declared war on Austria, 'however we do not wish this dispute to spread to our friends within the Empire. We pledge not to attack or fire upon Prussian military forces and seek a reciprocal promise.' He added a gentle reminder that Russia has stood firmly by Prussia in the past against Austria! Regensburg *Leopold Ignaz, Furst von Dietrichstein, Lawyer to the Emperor has spoken in the Imperial Diet, calling for the Aulic Council to meet next month in Vienna to ratify the decisions made last month in the Diet. On a point of order he was informed that the Aulic Council is a court of appeal in relation to directly ruled Imperial fiefs and so this would not be appropriate since such ratification is not necessary. It is the Emperor himself who has the right to ratify the rulings of the Imperial Diet! Graf von Schonborn then rose to ask the Imperial Diet to have on next month's agenda the Russian Declaration of War against Austria, its implications for the Empire and to ask whether the armies of the Imperial Circles should be called upon 'to defend the Empire'? He was given leave to present such a motion next month. Southampton *King James II of England has ridden from Portsmouth to Southampton, being cheered in some villages he passed through along the route. On reaching Southampton the gates were opened ‘in the name of the King’ after being called on to let His Highness enter. Southampton then declared for the Jacobite cause, opening the port to Jacobite and French ships and closing it to ‘rebel’ government naval vessels. Aaron de Veuille has been dismissed as Mayor of Southampton to be replaced with Arthur Atherley, who is described by both himself and his friends as being a ‘convinced Jacobite’. King James was very kind to him, and even allowed Aaron de Veuille his liberty, while trying to persuade the man that his loyalties are misplaced. “I do not wish you harm,” His Majesty stated, “but will rule England honourably for the benefit of England, in contrast to William whose father drained England of her wealth to fight European wars to benefit the United Provinces.” He added that, “I, your king, have the law as the legitimate heir to rule, and the moral right - the previous administration’s refusal to come to terms with the French after they admitted their guilt means they do not have this. I also have the policies to end an isolationist England in respect of foreign policy and to focus on trade with the support of the Honourable West Indies Company in my favour. William can’t answer any of these points and his supporters are simply desperate to avoid responsibility for their mismanagement which plunged England into a war, they’re a discredited cabal, bankrupt of ideas, clinging to the illusion of power.” Sofia *Ottoman Rumelia’s Chief Vizier Shaykh Babas Hasan has been given a consignment of Moldavian Golden Twist tobacco by the Moldavian diplomat Moise Mihnea. Constantinople *It was being claimed during a conversation between Turkish merchants outside one of the French trade offices open in Constantinople that the famous sea-captain Barbarossa Husseyn was himself overheard near the port complaining to other naval officers that Russian patrols in the Black Sea have ruined his business! Belfort *The Prince of Vaudemont has crossed the frontier from Baden-Durlach into Franche- Comte with 26 squadrons of Austrian cuirassiers. They made camp south of Belfort, which place they observe is fortified in the modern manner and appears to be held by a French garrison. London *Before an audience numbering 1,600 persons at the Drury Lane Theatre a fantastical and marvellous performance of Shakespeare’s play ‘A Merchant of Venice’ had its opening night. Sir Cedric Hardwyke described it to be ‘one of the most entertaining evenings of my entirely life, simply brilliant! It brought tears to my eyes to see the vengeful Shylock brought to a place of mercy and forgiveness so that he too will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.' Ms. Belle Watling got rid of her new French dresses, albeit with tears in her eyes, after suffering ridicule and lampooning at the hands of Messrs. Defore and Swift who mercilessly embarrassed the dear lady for adopting French styles, and even accused her in an ever-so-witty way of getting sodden drunk on cheap French wine and brandy! Her reputation, needless to say, is in as much tatters as her new dresses are. Perhaps in a desire to salvage it she went with her (admittedly shrinking) circle of ladies and seamstress and her milliner to visit the Pool of London where for the first time in months ships have docked with foods, goods and luxury items. There Ms. Watling spotted a bolt of lace from Delft. Though it was too late to create a series of dresses for the new season the ladies conferred on the quayside and a dress was made. Alas it would have been a delight to wear on the the first night at Drury Lane, but it was not ready until after the performance. It is a fine gown indeed, which explains the time it took to produce, and has been made in the English style in green silk, though showing rather more décolletage than usual but covered by a ‘coat’ of the finest Chantilly lace which also offered her a cap for her shining golden tresses. She was overheard to say on setting her eyes upon it for the first time, “I hope Captain M does not hear how much this near contraband coat cost!” News that she has so rapidly changed her wardrobe has rescued her reputation from utter ruin. Those ladies who had deserted her soirees returned with wild abandon and many tears at this change wrought by ‘our Prodigal sister’. Sir Christopher Myngs, who is equally anxious to rescue his good name, has reacted to being called ‘a rebel and traitor by the Frogs’. How, you cry? By sending a copy of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs to all 115 lineships of the Royal Navy… (alas Jamaican rum is lost to the English Navy at the moment, he laments, and so he had wanted to also provide Cuban rum to the jolly Jack Tars, but he could not get a hold of any such stuff, possibly on account of the trouble of late on the Thames). The Admiralty was kind enough to inform Sir Christopher that not enough books had been provided… Myngs expressed astonishment, and a patriotic delight, that the Navy had grown so powerful, but when he sent some cases of vintage port to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord High Admiral John Egerton, as well as 10,000 guineas, along with a request to be made Naval Secretary to the Privateering Branch, Egerton returned both port and coinage forthwith and communicated a firm ‘no’! Sir Christopher was crestfallen, such is his desire to serve his country! Pamphleteers have distributed within the city broadsheets calling on English soldiers to desert to show their disapproval of the current government (and since they are unlikely to be paid) and present themselves to King James’ forces in Reading where they will receive a royal pardon, be paid a bounty of five guineas per man and be formed into regiments to defend England against foreigners. The sheets declare, ‘the sooner King James has loyal Englishmen to defend England, the sooner the French can go back to France.’ The pamphlet is signed by Mister John Harrington, a clerk of the Exchequer on the personal staff of the Lord Treasurer, James Butler. The man was then found to be missing, but later emerged in Reading where he has volunteered his services to be King James’s Treasurer! Parliament was delayed from going into recess by a few days by King William IV who insisted on delivering the following closing speech to the gentlemen and peers prior to their departure: “Gentlemen, as I call this session of parliament into recess, I would firstly like to applaud the following members. Please stand up once I have called your name: Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds; Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury; William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire; Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough; Henry Compton, Bishop of London; Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney.” (The gentlemen duly stood up to polite applause) “And finally, I should mention Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, but I know this gentleman is not currently available here in London, as he is in the service of the Crown.” “You may wonder why I have selected these seven men. These men invited my father, William of Orange, to our fair shores in 1688, and should be applauded for the service they have given to protect both this House, and the English Crown. King James II had a Catholic heritage, and he desired to override this very House at every opportunity, imposing direct royal rule over the subjects of this land. As he fled London, he purposefully threw the Great Seal into the Thames, thereby abdicating the throne. And now, his son, comes back to England, at the head of a French army. How the younger James expects Parliament, and the population at large, to accept a Catholic monarch, with such close ties to our greatest enemy, Louis, beggars belief. Added to which, Louis' agents at Regensburg spread lies regarding the Treaty of Ryswick. Or at least I assume they are lying, for they must have read the actual text. I have, in my hand, a piece of paper, signed by my father, King William III of England, and King Louis XIV of France. I will not bore you all with the full text, but merely article IV, which states: ‘And since the Most Christian King was never more desirous of any thing than that the peace be firm and inviolable, the said King promises and agrees for himself and his successors, that he will on no account whatsoever disturb the said King of Great Britain, in the free possession of the kingdoms, countries, lands or dominions which he now enjoys; and therefore engages his honour, upon the faith and word of a king, that he will not give or afford any assistance, directly or indirectly, to any enemy or enemies of the said King of Great Britain; and that he will in no manner whatsoever favour the conspiracies of plots which any rebels, or ill-disposed persons, may in any place excite or contrive against the said king: and for that end promises and engag es, that he will not assist with arms, ammunition, ships, provisions or money, or in any other way, by sea or land, any person or persons who shall hereafter, under any pretence whatsoever, disturb or molest the said King of Great Britain, in the free and full possession of his kingdoms, countries, lands and dominions. The King and successors, kings of Great Britain, that he will inviolably do and perform the same towards the said Most Christian King, his kingdoms, countries, lands and dominions.’ " “Therefore, I put it to you gentlemen, and the world at large, that Louis has in fact broken his word, given to us in 1697. He has provided assistance to the Jacobite rebels, and provided everything they require; funding, arms and men. And for what reason has Louis decided to take this action? One could perhaps argue in good faith if England had somehow violated the Treaty of Ryswick. But no, he uses spoon dredgers as his casus belli. Outrageous! So, I stand here, to implore you all, that as you go back to your constituencies, that you remember these seven men, and their desire to protect the freedoms that we all now enjoy. You should also remember how Louis has broken his word, and is firmly determined to place us all under the iron grip of James Stuart, a man who has no claim to this throne since his father abdicated as he sailed on the Thames. And on that note, I will send this house into recess." Many of the King’s supporters were smiling on hearing this, believing it to have been a masterful piece of rhetoric! Santa Marta *A third of Spanish Crown lands in the Americas have been gifted to members of the Spanish colonial armed forces by viceroys of the Crown. It is not known what view King Carlos III in Barcelona takes of this development, but some people are likely to make considerable wealth out of this. For example Colour Sergeant Sanchez of the New Grenada Dragoons is said to have obtained 24 Crown leases run by 24 sons by eight different indian, negro and creole women plus he has acquired his regiment's beef supply contract! 'Oh the things a man has to do for Spain and His Most Catholic Majesty!' the man is reported to have said, no doubt in sardonic jest! Versailles *Charles Honore d’Albert, Duc de Chevreuse has, we are sad to inform our readers, suffered a fatal heart attack and died while walking down a corridor of the palace of Versailles. He was a well known courtier aged 59. Vienna *“As Louis of France has repudiated the ceasefire and the ceasefire sponsor - Russia - has declared war on Austria, we presume there is no ceasefire,” Chancellor Harrach of Austria has bluntly commented without much amusement. Austrian Letters of Marque are once again being issued via Austrian officials and/or embassies in Trieste, Fiume, Milan, Madrid, London, Naples and in Brussels. Those previously commissioned are being especially encouraged to apply and are being offered financial incentives to do so. Venice *Don Francisco de Garay has lobbied the Doge and Senate of Venice to join the League of St. George and for a mutual reduction in tariffs to help trade between League members. He found himself to be pushing at an open door - Doge Morosini II is more than willing to join the League, and is simply waiting on Spain to send him the revelant treaty document upon which he can put his signature and seal. Delighted by this news, Don Francisco presented Morosini with a sash and a diamondhilted rapier made from Toledo steel as befits a coming knight of St. George. Munich *Both the Holy Roman Emperor and the Elector of Bavaria have spent their time at Nymphenburg Palace resting this month while the court remains in solemn mourning. A small party of talented Viennese violinists arrived and played for the Elector to soothe his aching heart. Besancon *The Austrian 5th Army surprised Marshal Catinat by emerging from its strong defensive position and going over to the offensive! They pushed forward over their own gabionlines and with drums rattling moved forward into the marshy stream ahead which movement threw the infantry into utter disorder. At this moment the French artillery opened a lively fire upon them with 14 batteries of 12pdrs and 4pdrs which fact, coupled with the mess his infantry were already getting into, caused General Bagni to fret somewhat but he maintained his nerve as his proud grenadiers, formed in two lines of ten and nine battalions respectively, mounted the far bank of the stream with four squadrons of horse to either flank. At the same time Jagers started to pour out in skirmish order from the woods to either side of the cavalry. Bagni was surprised at the ferocity and power of the French artillery, whom he had assumed would have been short of gunpowder and served by men in a much worse state than seems to be the case. The weight of fire was sufficient to cause his right wing cavalry to hold back, although the gap was filled with Jager as they fanned out. Of more serious concern was the halting of the grenadiers in the centre. Bagni’s officers couldn’t get them to advance further, and so they deployed their battalion artillery to return fire. An extended exchange of cannon fire resulted, with the Austrian pieces in particular shooting with a commendable rate of fire. This actually proved sufficient to silence most of the French batteries before their own infantry, the rest smartly - but without panic - being limbered and taken to a position safely behind Catinat’s foot. The Austrian left wing cavalry had during this exchange been badly mauled, leaving Bagni with Jager on either flank and his grenadiers in the centre in some disorder but in tangible fighting formations as the lines were being dressed. At this juncture Bagni was struck from his horse. He was wounded and carried from the field, and as he was the Austrian line retired back over the stream, seeking some protection from its banks, and then fell back further to redeploy on its old position. As they did so a large number of their horsemen quit the field and deserted. To the south, at Besancon, le Duc de Noailles ordered a volunteer forlorn hope from the grenadiers of the Regiment de Sault to roll barrels of gunpowder next to a section of wall to attempt to blow a breach. The ‘volunteers’ on this occasion were singularly pessimistic about their chances, but Noailles insisted they at least try! They went in, and as the grenadiers crossed the midwork defences ditch they came under fire from Swiss musketeers in the Austrian service as well as artillery which was rolled out in several bastions for the first time. These cannon on the whole proved ineffective, most of their rounds being of a new sort which exploded high in the air but did little damage to anyone. The musketry was a more serious threat, and cut down the grenadiers in large numbers. The brave attempt failed dismally. In the meantime artillery fire was heard coming from the north-east. Noailles ordered his own cannon forward to pound the walls of Besancon; six field batteries went forward with their limbers and came under artillery fire from the bastions. Once more the new fangled shells employed generally exploded too high, although a few did get close enough to cause French artillerymen to duck a few times. They worked their guns for about an hour, but then for want of ammunition withdrew having seemingly achieved little. A few days later Austrian ten dragoon squadrons under the Comte de Bussey-Rabutin arrived south of the Duc de Noailles’s camp and had the audacity to charge! They were met head-on by an equivalent number of French cuirassiers of the Lourde Cavalerie. Both sides came on at a slow trot, discharged pistols, drew swords and then rode in to each other. The three ranks of each line started to thread through each other when the dragoons broke and routed away. The crack French cavalry didn’t pursue, but rallied on the spot to reform their formation while Bussey-Rabutin and his men retreated out of sight. With the Austrian threat neutralised in the local vicinity for the time being, Noailles sent hussars out into the countryside to buy ladders off villagers and peasants. They were met with a reluctance to do so, and local French noblemen even argued with them that it would be pointless to give them the ladders anyway since they weren’t long enough to scale the walls of Besancon. The hussars threatened the miscreants for their apparent disloyalty to the King of France, telling them they should take more care over where their true loyalties lie, but returned to their camp empty-handed. On a happier note for the French a powder waggon trayne arrived without hindrance from Marseilles in the camp of the Armee du Pyrenees. Back in the north, Marshal Catinat broke the happy news to his troops that King Louis was soon to join them in the field in person! This news lifted the spirits of some of his troops, and he kept the bulk of his army in camp this month behind his gun line and dragoon picquets. At twilight on the 16th of April five squadrons of yellow-coated French dragoons of the 10th Regiment Dragons rode with lit torches held aloft toward the woods on the Austrian right wing. The flames danced off their helmets as they moved forward in a quite loose and irregular formation to avoid setting each other alight, but before long they come under fire from the edge of those very woods as Jager marksmen took shots at them. The gambit failed, the dragoons threw down their torches when it was safe to do so, and rode back to the French lines leaving the ground littered with casualties. Kingston *The loss-making Kingston branch of the Royal Bank of the Americas has been shut down. The Bank is still operating from its numerous other offices, but has significantly increased the premium it charges on merchant guarantee contracts despite a large number of shares being issued to the government of Spain following a large cash injection. The Bank is still claiming it is helping to provide Spanish producers and merchants a working financial system and the ability to pool risk which should give them a commercial advantage. The Irish Sea *A fleet of 11 Jacobite corvettes escorting an East Indiamen (a prize taken off the Williamite Royal Navy of England) encountered the Irish Sea Squadron of the Williamite Navy of five frigates. This news caused some excitement amongst several Jacobite sailors who were being held prisoner aboard the Williamite ships! The Jacobites, in high spirits, sailed directly for the Williamites, who formed line ahead and presented broadsides. However their shooting was remarkably bad, consistently missing and enabling the corvettes to close rapidly with hardly any damage being sustained. They rounded the line to van and stern, placing two corvettes against each end ship as they grappled these vessels. Drake, the ship in the van fought off the Jacobite boarders with gusto, but that in the stern, Newport, was lost to them. The Irish Sea Squadron then disengaged, the Jacobites being content with their new prize let them go having released four of their brethren they found in the hold of Newport with much rejoicing! Budapest *A recruiting party operating openly in the name of the exiled Prince Rakoczi of Hungary has gathered volunteers in Budapest and sent them off to Kiev where he holds court. This took place in spite of the fact that under Hapsburg law this is an illegal act (as it happened nobody in Budapest enforced this law against the recruiting sergeant and his men, the judiciary in particular turned a blind eye). Chotin *At the Moldavian Imperial Academy of Earth Sciences the son and heir of the Hospar of Moldavia arrived to preside over the graduation ceremony of one-hundred Anatolian miners. Prince Alexandru Racovita, who had travelled from Jassy, praised their efforts and extolled the virtues of mutual co-operation ‘which flowers within the Ottoman Empire’. People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *Shantung China *Austria *Moldavia *Spain *Persia *Russia *Honourable West India Company *Maharatas *Bavaria *Jacobites Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *Ten French merchant ships have gone missing in the West Indies. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *Sent by Bavaria to Saxony, Baron Ulrich von Ratzenburg; and to the United Provinces, Gerhard von Richter. *Sent by Russia to Saxony, General Boris Sheremetev. Trade Missions Opened *None. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Game 7 Category:Game 7